Robert F. Millman

Loyalty is important to Millman.

Over the past four decades, he has lived in one home, been married to one woman and worked for the same firm that hired him out of law school.

“I’m a total and complete anomaly,” he said. “I’m not bragging, but I don’t know anybody like that.”

After graduating law school and turning down a federal clerkship, Millman moved to California with “one suit and no money” and placed a job-seeking ad in a legal newspaper. Despite his inexperience as a labor attorney, Littler hired him as an associate.

His on-the-job training served him well. He became a respected attorney among both his fellow management labor attorneys and among lawyers that represent statewide labor unions, such as the California Nurses Association.

Last year, Millman worked with Tenet Healthcare Corp. to renegotiate a limited neutrality agreement and peace accord between the national hospital chain and two labor unions, including the California Nurses Association. In exchange for four years of labor peace, each labor organization was granted a limited number of organizing opportunities.

In Lancaster, two years of contentious negotiations between Alecto Healthcare Services and the nurses union had failed to produce a contract when Millman was hired to bring about a settlement. He did so over the course of 10 days.

Aside from reputation and ability, Millman said a management labor lawyer must be trusted by the unions to excel in the field.

“I’d like to think that I have the reputation where people on the other side know that my word is good,” he said. “I may disagree with them, but that’s not the issue.”

Regardless of the disagreements that arise during labor negotiations, Millman strives to keep his cool.

“A lot of management labor lawyers have reputations of being screamers and pounding on tables … and that’s just not my style,” he said, adding that his approach could be characterized as “professionally and appropriately aggressive.”

Millman also helps companies deal with public controversies involving an executive and other crisis management issues that require an attorney “with a little bit of gray hair.”

“Many times, if the conduct happened and it’s terrible, there’s no question that the person is going to be terminated,” he said. “The issue is how does this get packaged to the world at large and to the media and to the employees.”

— Mark Armao